[2] Some of her activities as a lawyer have drawn criticism from the non-governmental Political Investigation Group: for instance, it has questioned the fact that while an opposition city councillor in 2004, she represented the government-run Department for State Heritage Administration (RA-APPS), at one point receiving public contracts worth 710 million lei during a single week.

[7] During this period, she launched a series of attacks on Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, who had fallen out of favour with Băsescu; these centred on Tăriceanu's opposition to having early elections.

[7] Udrea resigned her post after eight months, citing the "profoundly unjust" attacks on her and others involved in Băsescu's anti-corruption drive, and her desire not to become a liability for her boss.

[5] These controversies centred around the RA-APPS affair and alleged links she and her husband had to the parking firm Dalli, headed by what Băsescu had termed the "personal mafia" of his 2004 election rival Adrian Năstase.

[8] During the summer of 2009, a parliamentary committee headed by Ludovic Orban of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) investigated alleged abuses at the ministry, including documents signed in Udrea's name by her subordinates, a flawed contracting process, the spending of unallocated funds, and the disbursement of money to town halls based on political rather than tourist-potential criteria.

In September, the committee's report recommended her dismissal and criminal charges for abuse of office, conflict of interest and negligence; she refused to resign and denounced the "fabricated accusations".

[9] That October, she became interim Environment Minister following the resignation of her PSD cabinet colleagues, including Nicolae Nemirschi, the previous occupant of that ministry.

[12][13] In July 2010, following the departure of Liviu Negoiţă, she became interim head of the Bucharest PD-L chapter,[14] assuming the post on a permanent basis later that year when she was the only candidate to fill it, and vowing in her acceptance speech to "rid" the capital of independent Mayor Sorin Oprescu.

[15] She resigned from this position in the wake of the 2012 local election that saw the PD-L perform poorly in Bucharest, including Oprescu's winning a new term with a majority of votes cast.

[21] In August, the PMP candidate for the November presidential election, Cristian Diaconescu, quit the party and went ahead with a campaign as an independent amid moves by Udrea to assume his role.

[24] In January 2015, she was questioned by prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate on charges of money laundering and false statements on declarations of assets, as part of a wider investigation into the Microsoft licensing corruption scandal.

[31] Udrea reacted by characterizing the proceedings as a matter of life and death, stating she would not accept to go to prison for what she termed "completely unproven accusations" and "bald-faced lies";[32] she subsequently filed an appeal.

Following the High Court ruling, the Romanian authorities announced their intention to seek Udrea's extradition, despite the lack of a treaty between the two countries regulating the procedure.

[36] A day later, the Criminal Court decided to remand Udrea and Bica for two months pending the presentation of the extradition papers by the Romanian authorities.